Note: Now I know what you're thinking, "Sukila, did you just write an epilogue story for a story you haven't even finished writing nor have updated or revamped like you said you would months ago?" The answer to this question? Yes. Though you can think of it as a celebratory story, I just finished something that used to take up two extra hours in my daily routine which means more time for writing! I've already started rewriting the first chapter of Stability and I'm very excited to work on more of these for all the gem characters I made for that story that I feel, in a story centered on two specific characters, would need closure to their issues that may not be well touched upon in a story like Stability. But there are SPOILERS FOR STABILITY so be warned, I'm touching on many topics that will later be covered in that story but I've written in a way that anyone can enjoy and understand, and even use as a guide to Stability's convoluted political system if they want.
(This fic is the entire reason I didn't update The Reason I Run this week or the last, sorry about that).
Bonded
"Rose...what are we doing here?"
"Yeah...we've never been this deep before, is something wrong?" The hallway had a sense of foreboding danger and smelled of heinous acts in mind.
"Wait, what are you doing? Are you going somewhere?" She had shoved them back and into a small room that was coated in darkness; stepping in afterwards.
"Rose?! Wait! What are you doing?!" She had left them at the end of the hall with a section of bars between them and a chain on each two ankles.
"No...I thought you said it would be over, that'd you'd help us and we could live again, figure things out!" Hysteria had taken hold, there was no way she would do this!
"I thought you said we'd be free!" She promised when she helped them that everything would change for the better! This was the same!
"Rose, no!" This can't be happening, they both denied the reality that it was.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what else I can do to help you...I'm so sorry, my friends…" The pink gem apologised, muffled by the, now closed, door so that only she could hear.
"Rose, please…" The blue gem begged.
"Rose, you traitor!" The red gem accused. It was after this that tears of frustration and sorrow were shed by all sides as emotions festered and screams became completely shut out despite the suffering attached. Their friend had betrayed them.
"Azurite...how long have I been shouting?" Her voice was still a fresh sound despite the time spent, though Azurite's had turned hoarse from the misuse.
"I do not know, it has been confusing to us both." Minutes felt like seconds and years like weeks, months blurring together in a slur of human and gem standards of time and no guidelines to measure it properly.
"Have they...have they forgotten us, yet?" If they had...it was the end of hope, wasn't it? She hadn't shoved them into a closet to keep the, safe from Homeworld, she, of all people, knew one prison to another was no help. They were her because she had willed it to be this way for all time. Neither had the heart to end the sorrow.
"I cannot say for sure but it seems crying will do us no good." Still it festered like an infection, spreading poison through veins in the form of depressing reality, though didn't stray to corruption, knowing a virus would only make prolong suffering; they would avoid that at all cost lest they lose each other and their collective sanity.
"I still see water…" They both did.
"I feel your tears just as you use my words, I am sure you can see how sorry I am for letting this happen to you." Azurite left this to hang as a calming sense flowed into them both as her words over compassed the darkness and brought a little glimpse of forgotten beauties to each mind.
"I do feel it, it's just like that time in her hands, back in the lab…" A shudder broke their vigil of immobility as Cuprite felt her memories encompass her thoughts and bring forth a terror she had memorized well with experience. It easily shattered the amity brought on, instead letting out a deep melancholy as comparisons were drawn and lines erased.
"Forget with me, Copey?" There was no need for those memories anymore, she just needed to convince her that this was so, that they deserved the ability to have no recollection nor remembrance to such awful times.
"There's nothing else to remember, would you tell me a story?" The good ones had already been told a long time ago but for her, she would do anything to distract from the constant questioning.
"Once there was a pair of gems, both unlike each other but similar inside, they were both lonesome souls." Just like all the gems on Homeworld, even those together but still feeling they have no purpose as separation was kept as common practice and left those that had once felt such a deep connection, wishing they had never known it in the first place.
"Why were they lonely?" She knew there were many reasons, that was the only reason she'd asked for clarification, so many ways to lack what is needed to fill a person's heart and fuel their spirit.
"Although they were alike, fate separated them for all time and they could only know each other through this invisible connection," She paused, "However, they could see their other half in the dreams they saw."
"What are dreams?"
"A picture brewed by one's subconscious thoughts, fueled by a body's slumber."
"I don't understand, I never do when you tell me these things, where do you learn them from?"
"The store of stolen, Earth literature we once had access to, some of the others also taught me a few things."
"You've told me about sleep but I didn't know it made pictures… Hey, do you think we'd see the same dream?"
"Our thoughts are our own so I doubt that but...one can never be sure, everything has changed quite drastically." Neither were sure if it was for better or worse.
"I wish...things could go back to before, when you could hold me...but I always wondered...why us?"
"War was brewing and we were no soldiers, no resource lost in the grand scheme of things and no questions asked if a tall tale came into the rumour mill about a crime that had gotten us shattered." Cuprite didn't respond so Azurite continued, "Not to mention we are rather...compatible, always being each other's eyes and voice."
"Why don't Azurites have eyes? I just know Cuprites don't have mouths because we're meant to be silence and unseen."
"Sensory overload, it would make tracking too difficult if I followed too many keen senses, eyesight was the only sense that would fix the problem without another needing removal."
"Is it overwhelming now? Has it always been?"
"No, it was a new experience for me, one that showed me the world I'd been missing, just as you gained an opinion I had gained access to a whole new place. So long as you share this gift with me and draw enough from my own so I may utilize it...I will always be thankful for that." It was all that needed to be said to reassure both that this was not the worst turn of events, yet silence brewed even quieter questions that soon brought doubt as a plus-one; no invitation in hand.
"Do you think it will just be...this, forever?" Cuprite asked, hesitation in her lighter voice as she waited and then clarified when no answer came from her still-considering partner, "I just...I'm afraid that this is all it will ever be, that maybe, one day, we'll tire of all of this and then...when we think we'll stay together we'll actually lose each other; I don't think I can handle that."
"We will not give-in then," the blue gem responded, taking in a deep breath and bringing a finger to her friend's wet cheeks on one side as the other birthed new tears of its own, "I am afraid too, that we will never find out why, why she left us to suffer like this after she had promised." A sense of anger and passionate disbelief cut through the doubt as both let their hands intertwine and each was left alone in their thoughts, the only privacy in this life, and yet not lonesome enough to drown in the terrifying memories that flowed like nightmares and were all they could see at times.
"I wanna see the rest of this place…" In an artful splash and puff of pink swirls an entrance appeared, "I want to know what else she kept hidden." After that statement sounded the door seemed to change, opening a new hallway that Steven stepped into. Murmurs filled the hall with a chorus of faded whispers that had the young half-gem calling out, fearing perhaps it was all still the room, or even worse, his mother had hidden away more gems she didn't want found by even Steven.
"What would they call us? Azprite?" Short giggles followed that urged him to chase the happiness emanating from such sounds down the hall in hopes it was not what he had thought.
"I would not call us another gem per say, I suppose you're right."
"Hello?" He called, "Is...Is someone there?" No answers came to the feeble question despite his volume easily over-compassing and echoing through the passageway. His apprehension seemed to sap his strength and the urge to call again was quick to die as he reached the ending; nothing but a wall. A sigh spilled from his lips, "Another disappointment…" He went to leave, trailing his hand on the stone walls until an indent became noticeable as his hand sunk a bit into the rockface.
"What?" Excitement bubbled in his chest, coating doubts in a pasty happiness that clung like syrup to a dirty t-shirt. His hand was quick to follow the fingers as he pressed against the hidden switch and watched as a door slid open, spilling light into a room that was separated by bars that soon let out a wave of words; like opening a passage to the ocean itself it seemed to coat the surrounding area in the unknown. Two gems sat, back-to-back, one was blue and the other a bright red; only one was speaking but her voice made it appear as though she was having a conversation due to the differences in tone and body language.
"H-Hello?" He asked, stuttering in his hesitation, he had no idea who these gems were, nor why they were here; in a hidden room. They both turned slowly and in complete synchronization, he could barely see them through the darkness but could easily spot facial features. One pair of eyes on the red, one mouth on the blue; both were missing from the partnered gem.
"Azurite, do you see it too?" The blue asked.
"Of course...do you think it is a gem, Cuprite? A human could never be here." The blue responded in a differing tone that came from the same mouth, making the entire exchange seem odd.
"H-Hi! My name's Steven!"
"Name?"
"I read about them once before, humans refer to each other by this code."
"But how did a human get down here?" The red one's eyes trailed to the ground and the two arms or differing colours that were squished between them soon locked their fingers together in a comforting gesture.
"Oh well, the gems take me here sometimes but I got here through my mom's room. Anyway, it's Azurite and...Cuprite, right?" They nodded, "How did you get down here...and why?" A look of caution quickly claimed purple eyes as teeth bit at the lower lips of a blue mouth. The silent question they each contemplated, should we trust him?
"I don't know...won't it just end the same? It always does!" Azurite flinched as her mouth let forth a yelp at the increased volume, one hand gripped tighter and the other followed suit, apology clear on the opposite face.
"I want to see it again...perhaps they would grant us one last look before…" They shattered us. Words left unsaid but unneeded to understand the gravity of all situations and leave Steven with a look of shock and dismay as he decided to get a few things out of the way.
"Are you from Homeworld? Why are you down here? How long have you been down here? Why weren't you just bubbled like the rest?" The two faced each other as if in a silent debate despite vision only being present on one end.
"Yes, until the leader of the rebellion helped us escape; it has probably been a long time since then...how has the war been faring?"
"It's over, ended a long time ago."
"I see…, then I can assume the outcome was victorious for the rebels if you humans are still around."
"Yep! Sometimes gems from Homeworld come and mess with us but we can take them! Handling all those gem monsters isn't too hard either!" This alarmed the two.
"The corrupted? What a cruel fate that has befallen them, then...to lose who they are." This was the only way they knew it could happen, after all.
"Yeah, I tried helping one awhile back but all I could really do was bring her back to her friends; I still hope that we could help them all somehow…" His mood turned a bit sour at the thought of watching her form grow into something so human and then turning back into Centipeedle, then watching her sacrifice so much for him and a bag of 'CHAAAAPS!' Though this thought was soon interrupted as he glanced upwards from the ground and watched four shakey legs support each other as they walked forward and to the bars, Azurite's arm reaching through the bars. Steven reacted on impulse, bringing his own hand forward to meet it as her finger traced his palm in light movements that were full of hesitation. Cuprite blinked as the Azurite snapped out of her daze in accompaniment and the blue gem asked the hanging question at last.
"Can you let us out?"
The gems seemed dumbfounded as Azprite stepped out of the door, led by Steven's gentle leadership and reassurance as they passed into a completely new world. Both gems acted similarly as they viewed those known as what was left of the rebellion before quickly bolting out of the house as glows started and weapons were drawn. Four legs met the wood of a deck and then jumped onto a sandy beach as they looked up at the sky, Azurite's lips curling into a smile and Cuprite's gaze becoming all the more brighter as their collective arms reached towards the water. Shouting could be heard from the distance but neither cared as they reached in and swirled their fingers, eager to know more about this place, and curiously let the salt-water drip down a red arm. The water was as salty as their tears, ones that flowed freely as if to show a correlation to a mind's claim as they each wept in joy at the brightness and at leaving the dark prison they'd grow accustomed to.
"Azurite...is this what it feels like to love?"
"At every moment that we are together I know that feeling, yes, it is; at least to me."
"I feel the same way, myself!" She laughed, a light giggle that gave off a carefree sense and made them each feel that much more whole. Back-to-back and hides attached by a single fusion of melted gemstones that kept them always with one and other, never able to pull from their fragmented existence nor warp their bodies anymore. Such an unsatisfying forcefulness had begun their bond, leaving puzzle pieces missing to a nearly complete picture; frame lying broken from the rage at its uselessness. Now it felt like that way no more as they nearly doubled the time they spent outside, overall, on Earth; Rose had made sure of that. Fingers digging into sand and feeling the easy way it shaped to fit the wants of its aggressor, their existence would be like that no longer as long as it could be spent away from that room. It didn't matter if they shattered them right now, or, in an attempt to bubble them, break their carefully crafted bond and destroy them both; one physically and the other mentally but both forever. Because the fusion experiment was happy to have this memory.
Garnet was uncomfortable, the same feeling that had caught her heart when they'd first discovered Homeworld's experiments. Yet they were nothing more than limbs, here she was now, watching two happy gems that sat a little too close at their opposite hips with hands reaching to fiddle with the water. Seeing her there had made the, normally stoic, gem panic at seeing the two so...stuck together, not to mention the sudden emergence from the temple. But what did that mean? Was it a secret of Rose's, another Bismuth situation for reasons that became apparent in just a few moments after seeing their attached backside where two gems jutted out within each other. The only difference was the connection, she had no idea who these gems were before, nor who they are now. Still, they watched her be simply entranced by the world around her, eyes taking in all that she could with a smile on one face as collective hands traced the sifted ground of shifting sands. Words floating off her and leaving an aura of togetherness that felt much like a normal fusion's bond but more...stumbling, moving in a less fluid manner and remaining too separate for proper...anything. One body had not been made from two, instead making a mixed-drink of oddity as the two conversed as one would but interacted as two and minds stayed their own without any new person being formed.
It was strange, seeing the sewn skin of contrasting red and blue that didn't mix beyond a patch of purple where they attached. The blue one sat with a smile, green patterns trailing down their arms, legs, and hair that swirled like Jasper's; her skirt had a whole where their gems attached but, otherwise, was simple. Her hair remained tied up in a bun, longer bangs free at the sides and the shorter cut above her forehead. The red kept bringing her purple eyes around and staring at everything visible, freckles marred her cheeks with a darker hue that matched her long hair that was kept down, controlled by a loose tie near the bottom.
"Cuprite, do you think this is the most beautiful thing we will ever see?"
"We still have time…" A breathy laugh followed this.
"Always so optimistic…" Cuprite's arm moved from the beach, instead placing it on the blue gem's cheek, who looked uncomfortable, like she would look away if she could. "Did you not see the look they gave us? I doubt anything will change, at this point I would rather just stop trying so hard…"
"Azi," Cuprite pressed their foreheads together, speaking a lighter voice that was obviously coming from the blue gem and yet the meaning was directed toward who was actually meant to hear. "Azurite, you know why we didn't wanna do that…"
"But just look at us! This is all anyone will ever see when they see us!" Azurite fumed, "We are nothing more than an experiment to them! This will be no different!"
"Azi…" It was obvious that she wasn't usually so vocal, it reminded Garnet of her own relationship troubles back at the Keystone Motel, when neither wanted to admit it had been hard and that while a grudge was avoidable it would take effort on both parts.
"I just...want you to be safe again, like before."
"Were you even happy then?"
"I- no...but-"
"You kept me safe at the cost of yourself, we ended up like this because we both cared for each other more than ourselves...that's not something to be ashamed of." Tears flowed out of Cuprite's eyes as they grew foggy and blue hands reached to wipe them away with harsh strokes that red ones quickly stopped, letting gentler motions wipe away at the sorrowful liquid.
"It's okay." It seemed to be enough for them, to let out the harsher emotions after happiness has overwhelmed them, to lean on each other in a less physical way as different limbs held the opposite and tangled together whilst both rubbed at the same pair of eyes. It was almost like they were a single person, a true fusion, the only difference being the awkward movements and voices that spoke aloud and showed that their minds remained separate despite the similarities; that and the differing colours. So while Homeworld's gems had become a source of constant disgust over their experimentation, these gems brought on a sense that culled the discomfort, blotting it out and diluting tears with happiness. No doubt they hated what had been done but did not resent themselves, instead remaining amiable at the thought that they would be together forever now. Azprite would remain. It was a familiar feeling that Garnet could relate to as recognition poured over her emotions and she gave a small smile.
Azprite sat inside the house, sitting in a little lump on the floor like they always had despite the urge to sit tall and swing their legs. Both gems had curled into on themselves so as to appear small as they found themselves under the scrutiny of the Crystal Gems. The red one, Garnet, had asked them to come back, promising no harm to come and that an understanding could be reached; they couldn't keep running so they went. Silence stretched as Azurite fiddled with her bangs and Cuprite fidgeted, unable to keep still as her leg bounced. Neither knew who should start the dig into the horrid memories, both didn't want to subject the other to USC an experience despite the lack of choice. Steven sat on the floor in front of them, back against a low table and an aura of patience that told them to take their time in spilling; they could both appreciate that. The pearl and amethyst both sat in different spots, the white one with Garnet on the couch, and the purple on the kitchen counter. Eventually, they quelled some fear, Azurite gently nudging her partner and whispering to her.
"Copey, switch when it gets bad, okay?"
"No problem, Azi," She thought for a moment before pressing her forehead against her friend's, "Forever more."
"Forever more…" She agreed, drawing in a shallow breath as she weaved the tale in her head, threading the cloth of a story long buried but never forgotten; at least not for good.
"I am an azurite, she is a cuprite. As you might know, azurites are hunters, tracking the traitors and finding all the new species on new colonies. Cuprites are meant to be silent, accompanying my kind and assisting with infiltration, made to be silent spies that never stand out. This is a fact only known by a small few, myself included." She looked to her partner for a moment, thinking back to times of sadness and the lonely days they'd spent apart after finding...something special in each other.
"We were apart of the PD, a council made of representatives that I'm sure you can recall, yes?" Pearl nodded, taking over the explanation.
"'Purple Diamond,' a special status given to gems in their color-based hierarchy on Homeworld, led by Blue Diamond."
"Yes, each was in charge of hearing complaints and to improve society, though it wa really more a figurehead position; something commonly known by members. We were useless in the field once we'd had that position. Why? Because it meant other gems that had served us would either resent us or consider us above themselves; the unit would fall apart; particularly for our gems. So it was a status one held for life, usually." She grimaced as a sour taste came, recalling the bothersome politics that never had mattered, and long nights spent mulling over what could never be fixed.
"My guess is we were never found out for those long nights we spent in each other's company, the council, that is; they would've all been arrested otherwise. When Blue Diamond had left we would all congregate in a hidden room that belonged to the speaker, Obsidian. It was where I had first learned of fusion and...certain...pleasures that other species took part in." She blushed a darker blue, deeply mortified by her embarrassing story that soon had a flustered Pearl asking if they could get back to a more appropriate topic as Steven's own cheeks began to turn pink.
"I-In either case! ...It was a pastime of a different sort that we all indulged in together, simply letting go of all the rules, restrictions, and regulations that Homeworld demanded. We grew addicted to each other's company and the freedom of it all that soon we found ourselves getting more and more reckless as the urges began and the meetings became longer and longer…, gems began to skip the meetings in favour of their own so a Hematite investigation was spurred, to cull the one responsible for 'poisoning the minds of their fellow members.' Lapis was gone and with myself in her place but no one was set to take Angel's so everything was already a bit haywire, especially with Carnelian's defection being so recent… In the end, we all knew it was coming, it was Pyrite who sold out us out, she had been angry with us so she told Blue Diamond that we were scheming since she did not want to get herself in trouble as well." Azurite stopped for just a moment, a bit of hesitation slowing her hand as it gestured through her speech.
"It was her own fault for falling for a loose cannon…" Cuprite chimed in, clearly annoyed, "Sunstone was never one to listen to orders, not even when she was put on probation by Pink Diamond herself!"
"You're right...but it is hypocritical when all of us were so...involved. What is that human idiom? 'The heart wants what the heart wants?' Anyway, that was when we were taken in for what we assumed would be questioning, to make a long story that much shorter...it was not. We were put on White Diamond's tutelage…"
"You don't mean…?" Pearl asked, well-warranted surprise in her voice.
"Mean what? What's she even do?" Amethyst inquired, forever ignorant to the harsh reality of Homeworld and all its terrible misdeeds against the very gems that live on it. Azurite buries her head in her hands as her partner lays their arm across her shoulders, rubbing her back in a soothing motion as she went to pick up the story as promised.
"She's a scientist, if you can even call her that anymore, she's bad news all around; experiments on her own citizens and soldiers! She...wanted to see what could be done with us that would benefit the research on future weaponry involving fusion, stuck us together without bothering to break our physical forms first; made it so we could never afford to be…" She trailed off, anger pooling in her chest and flowing down as it burned shame and sadness as fuel and kept her talking, "Now, we can't change shape, fuse, nothing, we're afraid that if we're reduced back to our gems then we'll either become a mindless limb-monster or...that one or both of us won't come back...not to mention the fact that we'll never be Taaffeite again!"
"Taaffeite? You mean your…?"
"Yes." She replied firmly, "One fusion among countless others we risked our lives to become again and again, and I gotta admit," She paused, wiping a tear from her eye as one hand went to Azurite's cheek, "She was my favorite too." A smile and genuine expression soon gave a calmness to each other that was filled with a kind of joy that would never be lonesome.
"Snowflake was the one that helped us escape, she took us to the only place she knew we would be safe from Homeworld; Rose Quartz's place of rebellion, Earth," The blue gem continued and, hearing the many gasps, soon resumed, "She was a spy for the rebellion, previously a colonist under Pink Diamond until her leadership changed after...well, the incident with her diamond. White Diamond was interested in her abilities, she was quite the rarity at the time, and used her calming skills to keep the other experiments in line. She must have felt so guilty...poor old friend." Cuprite squeezed her shoulder in a quick gesture of reassurance as Azurite took a deep breath.
"Rose...she promised that we would be safe with her, free from captivity for good. She...uh- she...lied…" Both of their heads were cast towards the ground as remembrance of her betrayal freshly implanted in their minds. It was the red gem that continued the story after that.
"We had only just arrived when she took us here, to this very beach, and showed us inside. It had barely been a single Earth month and we'd barely seen anything besides her and the books she brought us; she told us it would scare the others to see us and that she was sorry; we believed her. It was only that one month we'd spent free, until Rose Quartz took us down a long corridor and to a hidden room, closed the door, leaving us in darkness, and left without a single word of explanation; she never came back. We never even found out that the war was over until our talk in the hallway..." The last few words were barely more than a whisper, then the screen door shut with a harsh slam, signaling the exit of Steven; quickly followed by the rest of the Crystal Gems. Azprite remained, sitting against each other as their pasts overwhelmed their senses and left them both in tears despite only one set falling to the floor. What a day it had been for them both, one of hopelessness, amazement, happiness, and remembrance of previous sorrows; tomorrow was no promise but they could only keep hoping that maybe they would be allowed to persist in this world.
"Azprite! Azprite!"
"Oh, hello, Steven!" Azurite asked as heads raised from the block of wood resting in duel pairs of careful hands that was beginning to resemble an old friend.
"It's good to see you! What are you making this time?"
"Oh, it's something for Lapis, she knew we would get it right, we know her face pretty well!" Cuprite said, excitedly gesturing to their carving that was beginning to resemble a gem with long hair and a rhombus on her back; the initials 'AQ' were carved into the bottom pedestal of wood.
"Who is she?"
"Just...somebody we all used to know, I suppose." The blue gem told, deliberately refraining from telling the story best left to the gem at hand; Lapis knew much more than Azprite did.
"That's cool. I just came to see how things were going with you five."
"Well, I hope you weren't meaning to see Lapis, she's off with her girlfriend." Cuprite teased, "Peridot's making stuff again though, if you wanna watch."
"Nah, I'm good here!" With that, he plopped down on the ground, Pumpkin letting out a bark and sitting next to him as he simply sat with his new-found friend and watched them get lost in thoughts.
Understanding Note:
+When Steven said 'the five of you,' He meant Lapis, Peridot, Leggy, Azprite, and Pumpkin.
+When I refer to Azprite using they/them pronouns I am meaning to allude to the fact that they share a body and can be considered the same person with the exception of their mind.
+I tried to make it very clear about the differences in their voices and who is speaking because they both share one mouth, Azurite's, the eyes were more complicated but they tend to be effected by both of their emotions and current actions; especially when speaking (Only Cuprite has eyes).
+Azi is Azurite's nickname and Copey (cope-E) is Cuprite's
+To make it easier to tell who is speaking I made Azurite talk without using any contractions.